POTTER OUTDOORS: Keep your eye out for poachers this time of year

In the poem, "Who Killed Cock Robin," the litany revolves around suspects and reasons the bird got murdered.

In the case of Indiana's infamous "Nightmare Buck" fiasco, the poacher was pounced on, but was he goaded into killing by media exposure?

On Oct. 2, Tom Miller was asleep inside his residence near Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis when he was awakened by a rifle shot. Out of concern, he hurriedly dressed and dashed to his truck.

Miller owns a piece of property where a super-sized whitetail buck was living. He'd previously seen plenty of spotlights sweeping one area courtesy of folks who'd heard about this awesome deer and wanted to see it.

By the time Miller arrived, he spotted a truck leaving the area and got its license number. He also called two law officers, Jesse Fulwider and Mike Marsteller. Both men had been bowhunting the buck for three years and had filmed it for a television show.

Upon arrival, sheriff's deputy Jesse Fulwider found the dead buck and called Indiana conservation officer Jeff Wells. Wells said the license plate was registered to Don Ward of Brownsburg and that Ward was suspected of other illegal deer killings.

When Wells confronted Ward about the shooting, Ward confessed but added he was sorry and that he was overcome by the size of the buck, so he poached it. He may have real remorse after the judge sentences him.

Ward is charged with criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony; the unlawful taking of wildlife, a Class B misdemeanor; and hunting without landowner's consent and shooting from a public highway, both Class C misdemeanors. The felony charge could cost Ward up to a $10,000 fine and three years in prison.

The giant, 300-pound deer was butchered and given to a family that previously asked for venison. The huge 10-point rack is being held for evidence but it may end up being placed on a deer decoy that conservation officers use to lure poachers into illegally shooting or it may go to the landowner.

Now that the "Nightmare" is gone, did the Indiana law allowing spotlighting for recreational purposes lead to the buck's demise? Many states, including Illinois and Kentucky, have nixed recreational spotlighting to prevent poaching activities.

What if trail cameras and videos hadn't hyped the "Nightmare" into star status? Some deer poachers, who target trophy animals for antler sales, have admitted they follow Facebook reports and network television shows to find intended prey.

Finally, what measures are being taken to monitor Internet antler sales, especially antlers taken, or allegedly found, in states with lax deer tagging laws? Some hunters maintain that phone checking deer and turkeys fosters abuses.

And how severe a sentence should guys like Ward automatically receive? Perhaps adopting the same fines and jail times that many Western states mete out should be enacted nationally.

As legal deer hunting seasons approach, poachers go into high gear. Watch for spotlighters, listen for gunshots and don't be afraid to notify authorities because your phone call may help nab poachers that annually steal trophy deer from your own neighborhood.